Gone
by bookaddict1028
Summary: Two-shot of when Percy was missing and Annabeth was depressed.


_He's gone._

That's what they told me when I showed up at breakfast that morning. I recalled the memory with

perfect clarity...

"_Where's Percy? Is he still asleep?" I asked the group of demigods sitting in the dining pavilion._

"_Um... Annabeth?" Conner Stoll rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ya see... um..."_

"_Where is he Conner?" I asked. Angry now, I stepped up to him and grabbed the neck of his shirt._

"_I... I don't know! He's gone." _

_All the air was sucked out of my lungs as I released him. "What?" I said in a small voice._

"_He's missing. Vanished into thin air." Katie Gardner told me._

"_He's gone." Grover whimpered._

"AGH!" I screamed and punched the wall of cabin three. I didn't feel it, so I kept on punching. The pain in my heart was so great everything was just numb.

I slammed my body into the wall hard and sank down to my knees. I wailed loudly as tears fell furiously down my face.

"Why?" I yelled at the wall opposite of me. "Why do you hate me?" I didn't know who I was screaming at, I only knew that it made me feel more in control.

"Why did you leave me?" I cried. "You promised. You promised me! You lied!" I screamed and choked on my own tears as I lunged for the bed. I punched the pillow furiously. Screaming louder and yelling insults with every swing.

"I hate you! You moron! You lied to me you... you..." I couldn't find a bad enough name to call him.

_Him. _

I sank down onto the bed so I was lying in a ball on my side. I cried silently.

"You left me." I whispered. "You were supposed to be permanent!" I yelled. "I hate you so much Perseus Jackson." I cried hard and quiet as I clutched me knees to my chest.

Nothing. There was nothing left for me. There was nothing.

Numb. I'm numb with pain, I thought to myself. It hurt so much, it didn't hurt at all. I cuddled underneath the covers and breathed in the salty smell of the ocean. I licked my lips and tasted the reminiscent of the tears. Salt. That's what _his_ lips always tasted like. I shut my eyes tight to try and stop the tears, but when I closed my eyes, all I saw was his face. His face with that trouble-maker smirk. His eyes crinkled and hair swept to one side by the wind.

"Ugh." I moaned.

It hit me like a punch in the stomach.

I took a shaky breath. But when I exhaled, I burst into tears.

My body shook violently, sobbing.

"I... I L- love y... you." I sobbed to the wall. "I... don't... want to need you..." I pushed my wet hair out of my face. "But I do."

I cried. I cried harder then I ever have, and think I ever will.

Because he's gone.

_He's gone._

And I'll never get him back.

There were always those days. The days Chiron made me stop looking. The days when I would lock myself in cabin three and scream at him even though he wasn't there. The days I would want to give up because no matter how hard I looked, I was never going to find him. The days when I really believed that he was gone forever.

There were also the days that I would just sit. I would sit on the beach and stare at the waves, thinking about nothing but him. Knowing, that nothing was ever going to be that same. Because I was broken, and he was gone. And it would stay that way forever.

Then comes the days that I would be so bent on finding him, I refused to eat, or sleep, or sit down. Because I knew that if I stopped for one second, he might die. I wasn't going to let him die without telling him.

When I did sleep, I slept in his bed. Because it still smelled like him. I would wear his t-shirts to sleep and bury my nose in them. When I cried, I licked my lips softly, pretending it was him kissing me. I dreamed about finding him. And sometimes, that was the only thing that kept me going.

Sometimes I found myself wondering if it was worth it. Would it be worth it if when I finally found him he was almost dead? And that I would run to his side and stroke his hair while he apologized endlessly for leaving even though it wasn't his fault and it didn't even matter. And that with his last breath he was say he loved me softly. And he would be gone before I could tell him the same. Is it worth it to go through all of that, and end up with an even worse broken heart. A crack that maybe couldn't be fixed? A tear so ripped, that not even glue could hold it together.

What if he didn't even remember? What if I find him, and I jump into his arms and kiss him, and he pushes me away and asks who I am. Maybe he's forgotten all those years. Maybe he's forgotten all the kisses, and the hugs, and when he would brush the hair out of my eyes and smile. Maybe he's forgotten everything.

Maybe he already found someone else. If he forgot about me, he very easily could have found a new girl to tell his secrets to. Someone to hold his heart and kiss his lips and memorize his face.

The idea of him being with someone else hit me in the stomach like a brick, and I doubled over in pain. A few campers looked over at me but I ignored them.

_He's gone_. The voice inside my head reminded me.

_He left you. He doesn't love you. He left. _

I grabbed my head and pinched my eyes shut, trying to ignore the voice.

_He's happy now. He's happier without you. He's forgotten you. He has new friends. Maybe even a new girlfriend..._

"STOP IT!" I screeched. "You're wrong!"

I hated my mother. And I didn't care if she disowned me for saying it. If gods could do that. She was trying to convince me to stop looking. Stop caring. Stop loving.

But that was the problem. You can't just stop loving someone. It doesn't work like that. You don't wake up one morning and just not love someone anymore. And I knew I was never going to stop loving him. He was my best friend. He _is _my best friend. My rock. My boyfriend. My love. _Mine._

"Annabeth." Chiron touched my shoulder lightly. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off."

I opened the door to cabin three. It looked exactly how he'd left it. Except one of his old shirts was on his bed. I shrugged out of my shirt and put his on. Pulling the fabric up to my nose, I breathed in deeply. I snuggle into his bed and cry softly, and let myself fall asleep.


End file.
